“This one?” He holds up Kidnapped.

“Yeah. I’d rather read about someone who’s kidnapped and has adventures than some girl who has a corncob for a doll.”

“Tell you what,” Mr. D said. “You read that one, and when you’re done, I’ll give you Kidnapped. Deal?”

“Okay. That’s a deal.” I took the book back into my tent and opened it.

I jerk my eyes open.

I’m still in the hotel room at the Carlton, clutching the horrible note Dale left for me.

I read it once more.

This will get you back to the ranch. Take today off.

 

* * *

 

Dale

I wasn’t asleep, just in a kind of meditative state. I’m so numb, and my senses… It’s so strange to not sense anything.

So what do I do?

I return to my childhood. My childhood, where my best friend was a Vietnam vet who lived in the tent next to ours. He introduced me to literature that day. I was always a good reader, and I turned into a voracious one after that day. I devoured Little House in the Big Woods, and after that, Kidnapped. Then Treasure Island and Little House on the Prairie and everything else both Laura Ingalls Wilder and Robert Louis Stevenson wrote. I moved on to C.S. Lewis, J. K. Rowling, Judy Blume, and J.R.R. Tolkien. Then, as I got older, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, George Orwell, Margaret Mitchell, Harper Lee, and contemporary authors like John Grisham and Nora Roberts.

But Kidnapped still holds a special place in my heart.

After that day, I was never without a book in my hand.

Why this memory? Why now?

I rise and regard my phone on the nightstand. It’s eight a.m. Dale told me to take today off, but I will not. I scramble to the bathroom and take a quick shower. Then I don my red sundress and order a cab. By the time I reach the lobby, my taxi is waiting. I hastily give the cabbie the address.

“That’s a ninety-dollar fare, ma’am.”

I flash him the bills Dale left on my nightstand. “Just get me there quickly and you can have both.” I’ll be glad to be rid of them. I don’t want the reminder of Dale’s crudeness.

His eyes morph into circles, and he nods. “You got it.”

Chapter Two

Dale

“So the tasting went well.”

I look up from the pile of reports I’m eyeing. Uncle Ryan stands in the doorway to my office.

“Yeah. It went okay.”

“I hear our intern was a smash.”

I look back down at the papers in front of me. I haven’t actually read any words. It’s all a gray blur. “She did well.”

“Looks like she did more than well,” Ryan says. “She sold the hell out of the apple wine and your Cab Franc.”

I sigh and meet his gaze. “Yes. She’s a talent.”

He cocks his head. “Does that bother you?”

“Why should it? I’d expect nothing less from a doctor of wine.”

“She’s not a doctor yet.”

I resist rolling my eyes. “Whatever.”

“I haven’t seen her yet this morning,” Ryan says. “What do you have her working on?”

“I gave her the day off.”

He lifts his eyebrows. “Oh?”

“Yeah. As a reward. You know, for the tasting.” The tasting that I just refused to give her any credit for other than “she did well.” Uncle Ry is going to see right through this crap.

“A reward for doing her job after one day?”

I sigh. No, I gave her the day off because I can’t face her. In fact, I don’t know whether I’ll ever be able to face her again.

“Yes. She’s not being paid. It seemed…appropriate.”

Ryan inhales. “All right. Good enough. Not the way I’d have handled it, but I gave her to you. She’s your responsibility.” He turns to leave.

“Uncle Ry?”

He looks over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

“She’ll be back tomorrow.”

“I expect so.” Then he leaves.

I throw the papers back into their manila folder. I won’t be good for anything today. At least I won’t have to see Ashley since she won’t be here. I’ll stay away from the main house when I get home. In fact, I’ll just grab Penny and spend tonight in the vineyards.

“Damn it,” I mutter under my breath.

“Good morning.”

That voice. That sweet and soft voice.

I look up.

The object of my affection stands in my doorway.

God, she’s even more beautiful this morning. She wears skinny jeans and a pink T-shirt. Her hair is still damp and hangs around her shoulders in a golden cascade. Her lips, pink and full and slightly glossy.

No makeup. She doesn’t need it.

Just Ashley.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, my voice taking an edge I don’t expect.

“I work here, remember?”

“I gave you the day off.”

“I chose not to take it.”

I look down at the folder. “I’m deluged with paperwork today. I don’t have time to deal with…”

“With what? With me? Or with us?”

I draw in a breath, trying to stop the wildebeests stampeding across my heart. “There is no us, Ashley.”

“There was last night.”

“Last night was a mistake.”

The words taste bitter on my tongue.

Because they’re a lie. A big-ass lie. Last night was the most wonderful time of my life. More wonderful even than watching the stars alone among my vines. It was heaven.

All my life I’ve avoided heaven.

If I acknowledge heaven, I also have to acknowledge hell.

And now hell is coming for me.

My intercom buzzes. Saved by the bell. I press the button. “Yeah?”

“Dale, I have Bridget from Qwest Labs for you.”

“Qwest Labs?”

“Yeah. You know them?”

Then it hits me. Qwest Labs. That’s where I had my blood drawn for the paternity test. Dad and I put a rush on it.

“Put her through.” Pause. “This is Dale Steel.”

“Mr. Steel, this is Bridget Miles from Qwest Labs.”